February 28, 2020

NEW
– Blue-eyed grass, a member of the iris family, is blooming with a bright blue flower on Homestead Hill.
– Greene’s saxifrage, with its small white flower is blooming on the Ridgewood Rock. This is over a month later than usual.

Forests
– Bay trees’ yellow clusters of flowers are filling the air with their sweet vanilla scent.
– Canyon gooseberry with its little Chinese lantern red and white flowers is blooming in the forest near 16.
– Fairy bells, low and branching with white bell flowers hanging under the leaves is blooming in forests.
– False lily of the valley with its ladder of pointed leaves leading to white star flowers is blooming in forests.
– Fetid adder’s tongue, a small lily with distinctive red mottled leaves, is blooming at several locations in the forest along the Homestead Trail.
– Hazel, a common deciduous shrub in the forest is waking up and the female flowers are very small tassels of bright red.
– Indian warrior’s burgundy plumes are spreading down the hill below 15 on the Homestead Trail.
– Manroot, a vine in the gourd family with large leaves and white flowers is blooming in forests.
– Milkmaids with their white flowers is starting to bloom in the forests.
– Oso berry is blooming with arching white, fragrant flowers on the Ridgewood Rock. Also called Indian plum, this shrub was an important source of food and medicine for native Americans.
– Trilium is blooming under bay trees in the forest near the water tank at 6d.

Forest edge
– Arroyo willow is blooming in the gully at Laverne and Reed.
– Coast live oak is blooming with pale yellow tassels.
– Pacific hounds tongue with its bright blue flowers on tall stalks with large arrow leaves is blooming at forest edges.
– Woodland strawberry, a common ground cover at forest edges is starting to bloom white.

Meadows
– Barberry’s leaves are pointy like a holly; its flowers are blooming bright yellow with fragrant flowers in meadows up on Homestead Hill.
– California poppy’s bright orange flowers are blooming in meadows.
– Checker lily has started blooming with chocolate bells and yellow spots in the meadows below Amaranth.
– Footsteps of spring is blooming in the middle of the trail at 7j below the Homestead Hill.
– Fremont’s deathcamas’s cluster of white star flowers is blooming in the meadow below Amaranth.
– Marin checker lily, a listed rare plant is blooming with chocolate bells in meadows.
– Oakland star tulip, also a listed rare plant, is blooming in the meadow below 11.
– Scotch broom*, one of the most aggressive invasive shrubs in Homestead is starting to bloom with bright yellow pea flowers in meadows.
– Wooly lomatium, in the carrot family, with lacy foliage and white wooly umbels is blooming in meadows up on the Homestead Hill

Key to map:
Plants are not located on the map if they are very prolific. Find them by their habitat.

Gallery of wildflowers and plants found in Homestead.

*Non-native

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